APPLES WITH RICE, No. 2

Boil the rice as above; sweeten it and flavor it with a few drops of orange-flower water, almond, or other essence, and mix into it a few chopped blanched almonds. Turn it onto a flat dish, and press it into a mound or cone. Cut some apples of uniform size in halves, cutting from the stem to the blossom; remove the core with a vegetable scoop (see illustration), and pare off the skin carefully; stew the apples slowly until tender, but still firm enough to hold their shape; before removing them add a few drops of carmine to the water, and let them stand until they have become a delicate pink; then drain and place them evenly and upright against the form of rice. Put some meringue in a pastry-bag, and press it in lines or dots around the apples and over the top of the rice, making it as ornamental as desired. Dust it with sugar, and place for one minute in the oven to slightly color the meringue, but not long enough to dry the surface of the apples. Serve with whipped cream, with fruit sauce, Richelieu sauce, or wine sauce.

Whipped cream may be substituted for the meringue, in which case place the apples overlapping one another around the rice in wreath shape; flatten the top of the rice, and pile the whipped cream on it. Another form may be made by putting the rice in a border-mold to shape it, filling the center of the rice with a well-seasoned apple puree, and finishing as directed above.